This verb appears in Romans 1:21, describing how humanity, knowing God, refused to honor or thank him, becoming futile in their thinking. The passive form indicates they 'were made futile' or 'became futile' — their reasoning processes became vain and worthless. This isn't intellectual inability but moral rebellion: rejecting the truth about God leads to cognitive corruption. Their supposed wisdom became foolishness. The verb captures how turning from the Creator doesn't lead to enlightenment but to increasing darkness, as minds designed for truth malfunction when detached from their proper object.